Tower of Paradise

I watched her as she tenderly caressed the boy in her arms, who clung to her as if she were his only lifeline in a stormy ocean. It was a disconcerting image: beauty and horror intertwined in a striking scene.

I knew it; what we were witnessing was utterly unheard of. Every monster gained intelligence and communicative ability upon reaching its third evolution. It wasn’t merely about physical changes or power increases but a qualitative, structural transformation. The human form was reserved for the fourth evolution. If this creature had managed to achieve a human appearance ahead of time, it could only mean one thing: its growth potential was absurdly terrifying. Given enough time, it could become a continental threat, comparable to the Five Calamities, the deadliest monsters known to date.

I understood that our reconnaissance mission was complete, and the outcome was far worse than we had anticipated. I inhaled deeply, trying to calm my racing heartbeat. No matter the price, no matter the cost, we had to kill her. Whatever happened, she had to die. But first, we needed to escape and urgently request reinforcements.

As if she had sensed my thoughts, the woman turned those piercing scarlet eyes toward me.

—What do we have here? —her melodious voice clashed horribly with the carnage surrounding us—. Two lost pups. —She examined us one by one with calculated slowness—. Why are you here? Who sent you?

I blinked. My body finally responded to the desperate commands of my brain, and I took a step back, instinctively assuming a defensive stance. We couldn’t escape with her so close. Beside me, Alice remained motionless, but I noticed the almost imperceptible tremor in her right hand, a detail others might have overlooked but which, to me, was as obvious as a scream in the silence.

—We got lost on our way —I replied, trying to keep my voice from betraying the fear gnawing at me from within.

I tried to think of any excuse, no matter how absurd it seemed. The situation wasn’t as catastrophic as I had initially feared. The fact that the woman began speaking instead of acting on pure instinct meant she wasn’t as savage as I had assumed. At least she would listen before deciding our fate.

—That’s a lie —The woman’s expression hardened like granite at my words, and she shook her head—. Tell me the truth.

I felt my heart race, and my skin prickled. Every survival instinct within me screamed danger.

—We’d better leave —I said with a firmness I was far from feeling—. We don’t want trouble.

A crystalline laugh, like silver bells on a spring morning, erupted from her crimson lips. The sound had a hypnotic quality that sent shivers down my spine.

—Little one —she pronounced with a soft smile that didn’t reach her eyes—. Did you really think you could enter my nest and simply… leave?

The boy detached himself from her and looked at us with renewed curiosity, as if we were a new toy just handed to him on his birthday.

—Mom, can I play with him? —he asked with the disconcerting innocence of a child requesting permission to use a friend’s toy.

The woman stroked his blood-stained hair with a maternal tenderness that I found deeply disturbing. Although the pair treated each other as mother and son, I was absolutely certain the boy was entirely human. How had they met? Why were they so close? The boy must have had numerous opportunities to escape during the monster’s evolution, yet he hadn’t. Why? Had he been raised by her since he was little? My mind buzzed with questions, but the answers slipped through my fingers like water.

—Not today, darling —she replied sweetly—. This boy has a different purpose.

My brain worked frantically, analyzing every word, every gesture, but the information was too scarce to formulate a coherent strategy, and fear clouded my thoughts like a thick fog.

—Reinhardt —As if waiting for that signal, a faint, familiar whisper brushed my ears.

It was our signal!

The black-haired woman frowned, sensing something unusual was happening. Her eyes widened in surprise as she realized, but it was too late. A single shot announced the war. A blinding beam of light descended from above, heading straight for her.

—Zephyr, get behind me! —she shouted with urgent voice.

Though the orange-haired boy didn’t understand what was happening, he obeyed instantly, hiding behind the woman’s figure.

The creature couldn’t dodge the attack because the boy was within its perimeter. She didn’t have enough time to turn, grab him, and escape the spell’s radius. All she could do was cross her arms and clench her jaw, bracing for impact while shielding the boy behind her.

I wondered why she would do such a thing. What did she gain by carrying such a burden? Why did she protect him with such devotion? Was there something special about Zephyr that I couldn’t see?

As these questions flooded my mind, the spell tore through the air, targeting the monster’s most vulnerable point, engulfing her along with the boy. The entire interior of the room was bathed in a dazzling white light, particularly intense as it fell upon the prevailing darkness.